


BABY.

by petitseok



Series: 내 편이 돼줘 (BY MY SIDE.) [2]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Babysitters!Seoksoo, Caregiver!Mingyu, M/M, Non-Sexual Age Play, Regressor!Wonwoo, lapslock, meanies soft weekend extravaganza!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:01:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23553472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/petitseok/pseuds/petitseok
Summary: "ow.wonu, pulling hair isnot nice."that was okay, he decided, letting go of his hair and grabbing onto his shirt instead. he would find something else to poke at.like his face, for example. mingyu had an exceptional face. wonwoo liked looking at it, and he liked flattening his palm against mingyu’s cheek, fascinated with the way it squished under his hand.// wonwoo spends a weekend with mingyu
Relationships: Hong Jisoo | Joshua/Lee Seokmin | DK, Jeon Wonwoo/Kim Mingyu
Series: 내 편이 돼줘 (BY MY SIDE.) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1577752
Comments: 9
Kudos: 91





	1. saturday morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> whenever you’re not here, it feels like something is missing. nothing else can fill it up. in other words: i can’t go on without you, so i’m thankful, _even for your existence._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay folks there's a lot to unpack:
> 
> 1\. this takes place at least a year before home, so it's a pretty early look into meanie's relationship. 
> 
> 2\. this is part of a larger verse!! reading home (the first posted work) is recommended, but not really necessary.
> 
> 3\. _in_ home, i tried distinguishing between big and little wonwoo by name (wonwoo vs won/wonie/wonu) but i could not bring myself to refer to him as that for this. won is little unless stated otherwise.
> 
> 4\. this is pure. The Good Stuff. ww will not always get good things in this verse. (i went through about three other ideas before i settled with completing this one.) 
> 
> 5\. this is mostly from wonwoo's pov, but that's hard, so it's kind of omniscient (no one cares but yeah)

it was 9:00 in the morning.

wonwoo hitched his backpack higher onto his shoulders, bouncing on his toes as he waited for seokmin to finish locking the apartment door. his anticipation only continued to build for the little when seokmin spent far too long checking his pockets and his own backpack that he had everything.

it was already getting late! surely his dada was getting worried about him. if seokmin didn’t hurry, then they would never catch the train on time and wonwoo would never see him again. 

“hyung, can we please go now?” he whispered urgently, only to pout when seokmin laughed brightly.

“so impatient this morning,” he cooed, taking wonwoo’s hand and leading him on their journey. “you must be excited for your playdate!”

wonwoo nodded, letting go to skip down the last apartment steps. he was already doing such a good job getting them there! they were going to be there in no time; he felt his big side swell with pride in the back of his mind. yes, a very good job.

the pair made their way to the nearest train station, wonwoo's hand entwined with seokmin’s the whole way. he assured himself that even though he was acting like a big boy, it was better to hold onto his hyung so that he didn’t get lost.

while waiting for the train to arrive, wonwoo couldn’t seem to stay still. he played with the sleeves of his sweater and swayed in place, not minding seokmin’s protective arm around his shoulders that kept him separated from the other passengers around them.

even when they were on the train, his leg continued to jerk. seokmin didn’t lose his hold over wonwoo. he wasn’t as bad as joshua, but wonwoo’s safety and comfort was seokmin’s first priority, and he knew joshua would skin him alive if he ever lost sight of their little.

wonwoo hadn’t noticed their overprotectiveness over the years. he knew that they were keeping him safe, though, and he always kept his rules in mind. 

joshua had engraved subway safety into little wonwoo since their first outing: hold onto your caregiver, don’t talk to strangers, if you’re separated, keep your phone and stay put.

he clutched his backpack to his chest, watching the city go past his window. seokmin had let him sit on the inside of the two seats, citing that he wanted the extra wiggle room of an aisle seat.

when one building in particular came into view, wonwoo's hand shot out to smack seokmin into gaining his attention. it wasn't difficult, and the caregiver quickly looked to where he pointed.

"that's where we're going," he disclosed as if it were a carefully guarded secret.

"right. the next stop is ours, so be ready to get off."

wonwoo nodded and obediently prepared himself. he stood when seokmin did and rushed off the train with him, cheering quietly to himself because he had gotten off in time.

"let's go, sweetie, this way.” seokmin guided him with a hand on his back. they stepped onto the sidewalk again, and from there, it was a short walk to his favorite caregivers apartment.

he had gotten himself and seokmin here safely! he felt responsible, and he couldn't wait to tell his dada all about his fun train ride. he always thought traveling was fun.

wonwoo tried not to let his giddiness show, though, remembering that it would look weird to other people if he started skipping down the street. he satisfied himself by swinging his and seokmin's hands back and forth.

"i'm so excited, hyung!"

"that's great, darling," seokmin replied absentmindedly, distracted as he tried to recall which building was mingyu's. “i’m sure you’ll have fun.”

taking wonwoo to his scheduled bi-monthly "playdates" was usually joshua's job, not that seokmin never went along. it was just that seokmin often didn't pay attention when he did, handed the job of keeping their little entertained while the oldest of them worried about not missing their stop.

he managed, though. seokmin brought wonwoo to mingyu's apartment safe and sound, and when he opened his door, wonwoo sprung forward into his arms with a squeal.

"someone's happy to see me," mingyu chuckled, squeezing his little in a hug.

seokmin wiped his face through an amused— yet exhausted— laugh. "the minute little wonu found out he was going to move in with you, he wouldn't stop slipping into headspace and asking when he was going to see you. that was two days ago."

"did you give seokmin-hyung a hard time?" mingyu asked wonwoo, and the little frowned. he didn't see what he had done wrong.

"i _missed_ you..." he whined instead, not noticing the nod seokmin gave mingyu.

"i'll leave you to it, then." seokmin slipped off his bag and handed it unceremoniously to mingyu. "i'm ready to have a nice, quiet weekend with my boyfriend. have fun. call us if you need to."

wonwoo whimpered, "hyung leaving?" he turned to see seokmin smiling at him and he pouted. "i wanna hug first."

seokmin could never say no to wonwoo, so he gave him a quick hug and a peck on his forehead. "be good," he told him, "and have fun, too."

"okay!" he chirped, returning to mingyu's side. "bye bye, hyungie!"

the two watched seokmin leave, waving the whole time until he was out of view. mingyu led him into the apartment that wonwoo had become so familiar with over the past months.

after his shoes were off, he slid past the kitchen and into the living room, tumbling to the carpeted floor.

"dada, hyung missed you too," the little declared suddenly, making himself comfortable on the floor and opening up his backpack. he had to show his dada everything he brought.

mingyu shuffled in behind him, dropping onto the couch instead of the floor. a passing thought told wonwoo that he liked that because it made him feel smaller. "which hyung?" mingyu hummed.

wonwoo always called seokmin and joshua his hyungs while in headspace, so mingyu was also 'hyung' until one frightful episode during which he called him 'dada.'

"wonwoo-hyung."

more often than not, wonwoo's big and little sides worked like two different people trying to live in the same body. therefore, big wonwoo was commonly referred to as 'hyung' too in headspace.

when he wasn't too deep in his headspace, wonwoo often worked as his little self's subconscious, and whether he liked it or not (he didn't), he was often tattled on like this.

(it often amused mingyu, much to his partner's distaste.)

"i missed him too, baby. do you want to show me what you've got there?" mingyu opened his own backpack at the suggestion, going through the supplies joshua and seokmin had so graciously given him.

"daddy, look!" wonwoo held up a little chapter book to mingyu. it was brand new, the kind you find at a primary school book fair. "'minnie hyung got me this!"

the little was clearly enthralled with the present, and it wasn't hard for mingyu to understand why. wonwoo didn't have many of his own things to use in headspace, and for the longest time, he only had two personal chapter books that he read over and over again.

for their first couple of meetings, mingyu took him to the library where he could read and check out as many children’s books as he wanted. 

when he pulled out of headspace, the first thing wonwoo did was grumble about what he was going to do with all of them.

"woah," mingyu was genuinely surprised that he had been given something so wonderful, "have you read it yet?"

wonwoo shook his head, "wan'ed to read it with you, dada." 

maybe if he asked, his daddy would read it out loud to him. he thought that was more fun than reading by himself because mingyu was good at funny voices and explaining words that he didn't understand.

before mingyu could coo at him for too long, wonwoo whipped out the next thing in his bag: his notebook. 

wonwoo hated not knowing what he was doing in headspace. his little self tried diligently— with the help of his caretakers— to write about his day in his notebook. he also used it to color.

"and this, too." wonwoo held up a miniature coloring book joshua gifted him recently. there was a rocket ship and several planets on the front cover, so mingyu assumed it was space themed.

more things came out of the bag. "this, this, and this." a pencil pouch of markers and crayons, wonwoo's prized switch, and a soft, square baby blanket. the little placed them out methodically.

then, wonwoo scooted forward and placed a familiar stuffed animal cat in mingyu's lap, its legs floppy and body soft with wear. "here's yangi. you have to take care of her too, okay?"

mingyu agreed easily enough and watched wonwoo turn the bag upside down to show he was finished with his presentation. 

as a second thought, he fished his phone from the front zipper pocket and handed it to mingyu. "joshua-hyung said i have to give you this so i don't lose it, so you have to take care of it."

"thank you, won," mingyu praised, slipping the device into seokmin's bag "that's very responsible of you."

"will you show me what's in there? i showed you mine!" mingyu relented and said he would show some if he really wanted; so, wonwoo clambered into mingyu's lap, picking up yangi as he did. "show me, show me!"

unzipping the bag, mingyu revealed that it was filled with mostly clothes and cups. "it's just stuff to help me take care of you since your stuff isn't here yet and you've been with shua and 'minnie."

wonwoo greedily took out his favorite sippy cup and held it to his chest along with yangi. 

he inspected the bag further and found his pacifier, which he asked seokmin _not to pack_ , and four pairs of underwear. that seemed like a lot to him when there was only one pair of shorts.

there was even some lotion and a teething ring, neither of which wonwoo knew his other caregivers owned. he decided that he didn't care about most of the things, though, and held his cup out to mingyu.

"can i please have some water, dada?"

mingyu melted at the soft request, "of course, baby." he pressed a kiss to wonwoo's cheek and stood from the couch with the little still in his hold.

wonwoo wrapped himself around mingyu as he was carried to the kitchen, giggling quietly into his shoulder. the little was set onto the counter as mingyu prepared his cup.

he swung his feet in quiet content, smiling to himself and fiddling with yangi’s paws. even though he was finally with his dada, he was still eager. he felt really safe with his new caregiver.

"did you eat breakfast already?" he asked, holding out the full cup.

taking his sippy cup carefully, wonwoo nodded. he sucked hesitantly on the nipple and was delighted when cool water came out. "hyung made me toast and gave me fruit! he helped me pack my bag and we took the train."

wonwoo recounted the perilous journey that he took with seokmin on the train. the buildings were only three or four stops apart, but to wonwoo, it felt like traversing the whole country. 

"and— and when i was looking out the window, i saw the apat- apet—"

"apartment," mingyu smiled.

"—apartment building from the window. i really wanted to see dada." wonwoo took another swig of his drink and giggled. 

he listened to mingyu talk about some of the things he did around the apartment while waiting for him. 

wonwoo wished he could be with him all the time. after all, no matter how much he loved them, he did not live in joshua and seokmin's apartment. he was more of an intruder if anything, trying to avoid his own roommate as much as possible.

that was how he ended up agreeing to move in with mingyu. little wonwoo was cognizant of the fact that his big self was dating mingyu, which he thought was weird sometimes, even though he never told his hyung that.

"i missed you too, wonwoo," mingyu lamented. "i'm so glad you're here, now.”

“me too.”

“how long do you want to stay?" he added, "how long does big wonwoo want to stay?"

it was saturday morning, and they had the whole weekend to themselves. it was previously negotiated that wonwoo would usually return to either joshua's or his own house by the end of the day. 

wonwoo was often big by then. when he wasn’t regressing out of necessity, it could be difficult to stay in headspace.

sometimes, though, he really needed a break, and by the looks of it, it seemed to mingyu that they _all_ needed a break.

"ah!" wonwoo slipped of the counter, stumbling a little before he took off too quickly for mingyu to admonish him for running. "hyung gave me a note!" he shouted.

a few seconds later, he glided into the kitchen on his socks with his notebook in his hands. he flipped to the last used page and presented it to mingyu. the caregiver took it, bringing wonwoo closer to hold him.

"how long would you like to be little?" mingyu asked again after reading, brushing back wonwoo's hair.

wonwoo leaned into the touch, feeling his cheeks flush a bit. "wanna stay with dada," he muttered. "can i _please_ stay over? i don't think hyung will let me," he frowned.

grinning, mingyu turned the notebook so wonwoo could read it.

_just for mingyu!_ the header read. underneath it, wonwoo had written his note:

_this week has been stressful. on top of work, i've been trying to negotiate moving out with hyun, and it's so taxing that i've holed up at shua-hyung's for a majority of it. now that he's found out about the move, wonie won't shut up about it, so before i let him go wild, i want you to know that he can have as much time with you as he wants. he can stay the night and all day sunday if it's what he really wants._

_thank you, mingyu. love you. wonwoo._

_p.s. you can show this to him_ after _you read it._


	2. saturday afternoon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> our eyes met; your shy smile tortures me all night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some heads up for y'all wonwoo like,, has an accident but its ok 
> 
> i didn't proofread this!!

mingyu returned to the living room, carrying two bowls of food for them. dropping the tv remote, wonwoo made grabby-hands for his, but his caregiver held it above him. “what do we say?”

“p’ease,” wonwoo begged, drawing out the word. satisfied, he was handed portion of bibimbap. “t’ank you.”

“so polite!” mingyu complimented him. “sit at the table, darling.” 

wonwoo did as he was told and slid off the couch cushions to join mingyu in sitting at the coffee table that really did not deserve to be eaten on. 

nevertheless, the little began to eat diligently as mingyu began their chosen movie, _ponyo,_ quickly turning down the volume to an acceptable level before wonwoo could flinch. 

the little noticed how mingyu deliberately sat on his left so that their elbows didn’t bump and he could reach back to scratch the base of wonwoo’s neck, something that pleased him immensely, warmth pooling in his chest. 

he wiggled his toes not unlike the pleasant swaying of a cat’s tail, preening into his dada’s affections as the movie played on. 

quiet time like this with mingyu, eating food with a movie he adored playing, the caregiver carefully petting him and offering loving sentiments, was what wonwoo enjoyed most. 

he loved it more than playing with his few toys, more than reading his books, more than coloring pictures. sitting placid with something to concentrate on was enough to enrapture wonwoo for hours. it was just the relaxing activity he needed.

as the movie progressed, wonwoo became more and more sleepy, closing his eyes only to jerk them open a few seconds later. it got harder for him to concentrate on the movie, swaying towards mingyu and falling into his side.

mingyu said something about him being sleepy, but wonwoo couldn’t process it, closing his eyes for a nap that lasted for the rest of the movie and the credits.

when his eyes opened again, he was laying on the couch, a different cartoon running muted on the television. the bowls had been clinked and if he paid attention, wonwoo could hear the clinking of dishes and the sink running in the kitchen.

the sleeve of his cardigan was trapped between his teeth, accidentally soaking soaking it with spit. 

although it wasn’t very sanitary, wonwoo didn’t mind for some reason. he liked the feeling of something in his mouth, he decided. 

“wonu~ you know you’re not supposed to chew on your sleeve,” mingyu chided, walking into the room. 

his words were no use; wonwoo had fallen deeper into his headspace and he understood only part of mingyu’s half-hearted scold.

rolling over and onto his back, wonwoo blinked up at his caregiver with wide eyes. when mingyu pulled the sleeve from his mouth, he gurgled and chased after it.

“you must have regressed further during your nap,” mingyu mused, stilling refusing to let wonwoo chew on his sleeve no matter how much he wanted to. “come here, sweetheart, don’t be like that.”

after some rustling, mingyu returned to wonwoo with his pacifier. he aided him in sitting up, replacing his sweater with the paci when he was disappointed.

in the moment, wonwoo couldn’t even begin to worry about what his big self would think of him using a pacifier. he didn’t like it and claimed he was always a big kid, but that simply wasn’t true; sometimes he really wasn’t very big at all, and a pacifier was the only thing keeping him from gnawing on his thumb. 

little wonwoo, just liked having something in his mouth.

“it was a stressful week, wasn’t it?” mingyu thought allowed. “well, it’s alright. you can relax like this.”

still groggy with sleep, wonwoo found mingyu mesmerizing no matter what he was talking about. he swung one leg over his thigh, straddling it and falling forward until he could tangle his fingers in his soft hair.

“hey, what are you— ow!” wonwoo pulled, amused when his caregiver voiced his shock. “wonu, baby, don’t pull.”

wonwoo looked between mingyu’s face and the fistful of his hair, trying to understand what he wanted from him. he couldn’t figure it out. so, experimentally, he pulled his dada’s hair again, only with less force.

_ “ow. _ wonu, pulling hair is  _ not nice.” _

wonwoo did know those words. dada didn’t like what he was doing, so he needed to stop. 

that was okay, he decided, letting go of his hair and grabbing onto his shirt instead. he would find something else to poke at. 

like his face, for example. mingyu had an exceptional face. wonwoo liked looking at it, and he liked flattening his palm against mingyu’s cheek, fascinated with the way it squished under his hand. 

with a rather low dexterity stat for his appendages, it was no surprise when he fingers ended up poking mingyu’s eye, but he didn’t mind as much. he was just a little surprised. 

it was awkward, however, when the little’s entire hand flattened against his face, index finger prodding at his lips and threatening to breach his mouth. mingyu chuckled.

wonwoo hugged him clumsily, removing his hand from mingyu’s face and instead planting it in his shirt. their heads clunked together, wonwoo’s cheek pressed against mingyu’s.

the little squealed his name, but with the paci between his lips, it came out as a loud, incessant whine. it was still an endearing sentiment that made both of them laugh until wonwoo toppled over with the force of his giggles, falling back onto the couch.

he was so lost in his laughter that he failed to address the growing wetness in his jeans. mingyu, however, swept into action at the sight of it, sweeping up his little with unbridled urgency and taking him to the bathroom.

wonwoo had an accident. he had wet himself yet hardly knew what it meant, only that his clothes felt much grosser than they did before. 

trying to prevent a fuss, mingyu helped him out of his soiled clothes and turned on the bath. wonwoo cried out at the commotion, his pacifier falling out of his mouth.

mingyu caught it before it hit the floor, taking the cord attached to the end and clipping it to the little’s shirt for the moment.

“dada, dada,  _ icky,” _ he whimpered, refusing to let go of mingyu’s arms. he didn’t want his daddy to leave him when he felt dirty all over.

“it’s alright, baby, we’ll get you a bath. doesn’t that sound good?” he ran a hand through wonwoo’s hair to comfort him, and the little leant into the touch as he nodded. 

mingyu led a now disgruntled wonwoo through the process of getting cleaned, trying to keep him entertained and happy as he did. he didn’t bother with washing his hair and took him out as soon as he could.

he understood why seokmin had given him so much underwear.

more than happy to re-dress, wonwoo slipped into a clean pair of underwear, boxer shorts, and his favorite sweatshirt of mingyu’s, curling up in said caregiver’s warm bed. he felt all bubbly now that he was clean— and wearing dada’s clothes! 

while the little was preoccupied, mingyu stepped out to grab wonwoo’s things, returning to the bedroom with his stuffed animal, blanket, and book. 

“dada,” wonwoo babbled, “look, look! look at me!”

“i see you! my baby is so silly, isn’t he?” wonwoo giggled, reaching out towards mingyu. he felt really small and didn’t want to do much; he just wanted to be with mingyu. “come here, little one."

mingyu sat on his bed and wonwoo scrambled to follow, laying his head in his lap. mingyu resumed his affectionate petting. wonwoo could have started purring. “do you want yangi?” the caregiver asked, holding the toy out to him. 

his eyes widening, wonwoo took the stuffed animal and cradled it to his chest. mingyu spread the baby blanket across his shoulders, thinking he would want to sleep again, but he was quickly proven wrong.

wonwoo wasn’t sleepy anymore. he was wide awake and he wanted all of his dada’s attention. when he spied the book in his hand, he reached out for it. 

“oh, does wonu want me to read to him?” mingyu cooed. “there aren’t many pictures in this book, baby.” 

wonwoo didn’t care what was in it, he just  _ wanted it. _ “‘ook. book,” he copied. his finger’s closed around it, and he yanked it towards him. once mingyu’s hand came within range, he tried to nip at it.

“aigoo, aigoo, don’t bite,” he was scolded again.  _ “not nice.” _

with his teeth now safely biting down on the nipple of his paci, wonwoo waited for mingyu to start reading to him. he opened the book to the first page, and wonwoo was amazed by the words and picture above the chapter title.

something about books had always interested wonwoo. he liked the escapism of them, of being able to imagine a different world. the pictures always helped, and he thought they were pretty. 

mingyu’s voice was pleasant as well. wonwoo was having a hard time reading right now and he didn’t understand everything that he said, but he liked listening to the voices he did every time a character spoke or the way he would pause to make the story more dramatic.

to make it better, he continued to scratch his scalp the way he liked. he felt all tingly and happy when mingyu did that because he was always calmed when he was held. 

by the time wonwoo began to get restless again, mingyu had decided it was time to start preparing for dinner. wonwoo was not quite so little, but his mind was still rather fuzzy and he still looked at mingyu with wide, expectant eyes whenever he asked him to do something. 

the clock read 3:56 in the afternoon, but mingyu was already looking for things to cook with. he rifled through the fridge and his pantry, coming up with plenty of ideas. he was unsure wonwoo would want them, though.

the little sat on a counter stool with his switch, attempting to navigate a carting game while mingyu fiddled around with other things. his dada had wanted him to be good, so he sat patiently and waited. 

“i know it’s early, but are you hungry? we had lunch pretty early and i don’t want you to stay up late or go hungry.” he knew it was possible to get food at any time, even at night, but as wonwoo’s caregiver, he could not live with himself if wonwoo did not rest enough.

“a little,” wonwoo confessed. “‘m a bit hungry, gyu.” 

“i just want to spend time with you,” mingyu sighed, although wonwoo did not hear. he moved to where the little was sitting, leaning closer to whisper as if telling him a secret, “maybe we should just order out?”

wonwoo’s head shot up, definitely not opposed to the idea. seokmin and joshua liked to carry out food because neither of them were expert cooks. joshua was good, but he often didn’t want to put in the effort; he preferred eating food to preparing it.

therefore, little wonwoo was pretty used to eating out. he never would turn down a meal from mingyu, but he also knew what he like to order the most.

“chicken?” wonwoo grinned. “dada, i want to eat chicken! pretty pretty please!”

mingyu loved the idea. “anything for you, little one. chicken it is!” 

wonwoo squealed, the loudest noise he had made since arriving at mingyu’s apartment that morning. “yay! happy!” he dropped his switch, suddenly keen on hanging off his caregiver. “dada is the best! i love you so much!”

“i love you too, sweetheart,” mingyu blushed, lifting wonwoo off of the stool.

for whatever reason, mingyu could tell that wonwoo was slipping into a bit of an older headspace again. he was more energetic at the idea of getting food. 

“dada! come play with me!” suddenly, wonwoo slipped out of mingyu’s arms and pulled him into the living room, intent on beating him in a video game at least once before the night was out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> baby won ;-; sof


	3. saturday night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i can't sleep; i'm only thinking about you. because of you, i'm having this kind of night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> coping with being alone and in the house for too long: fic writing edition
> 
> totally didn't proofread most of this, especially the last half. just over 3000 words, longer than the first two lmao

by the time mingyu insisted on ordering their dinner, he had bested wonwoo in fifteen games of mario kart and purposefully allowed him to win another two. during their matches, the little tried every possible strategy to beating his caregiver, but it seemed like there just wasn't any use.

even sitting in mingyu's lap and blocking most of his view with his head didn't work. all he did was look around him and scold him. the only thing he could do was whine and slump against his chest in defeat.

usually, he was really good at video games. his big self _loved_ his switch and had saved his money for several games, tirelessly perfecting his craft during his free time. somehow, his skills managed to deteriorate when put up against mingyu's.

what wonwoo overlooked was his _little_ self's competency at playing switch games. he didn't exactly have the same practice time, and his fingers weren't as deft as they usually were.

it was just a fact that his fine motor skills were diminished when he was little, just like a real child's would be. when he pressed the button to make his kart go forward, his hand tensed and he mashed at it. steering was more difficult to manage, too, pushing around the joystick and trying to avoid the patches of grass that would slow him down.

this, with the combination of his consistently poor kart choice (the biggest wheels were the worst, but that was just what his daddy said; they were fine and they looked awesome), ensured wonwoo's mediocre placementbwith each round that they played.

after celebrating his second win that mingyu managed to give him without the little noticing, bouncing in said caregiver's lap and cheering, wonwoo flexed his fingers and pouted.

he spun around, holding up his hand to mingyu's face. "ouchie."

expression crumbling with sympathy, mingyu reached up and massaged his little's hand, relaxing the muscles under his thumb despite his stubborn complaining. "aw, my baby's hand is all tense from playing. we should take a break, then."

"dada," wonwoo whispered. "can we order chicken now?"

"oh, he's hungry!" mingyu grinned. his hands let go of wonwoo's to flit up his shirt, tickling his sides and stomach. his smile only brightened when wonwoo squealed, curling in on himself and begging him to quit. "aw, wonu is ticklish, too."

"stop! dadadadadada, _stop, gonna make me--"_

mingyu lets up quickly, wanting to avoid an accident and being kicked in the face. he relents and orders some food for the both of them. wonwoo leaned on his shoulder as he called, happy.

after hanging up, mingyu urged wonwoo to stand, taking his hand and pulling him up from the floor, "will won help me get ready while we wait?"

wonwoo sprung up, eager to help mingyu in any way possible. making his caregiver extra proud of him and easing his responsibilities made him feel proud of _himself._ there was nothing better than just being good and helping.

"i wanna 'elp!" he bounced. "want to help!"

mingyu laughed, "alright. if you want to help, then go wash your hands."

with a very excited nod, wonwoo bolted for the kitchen, coming to a stop at the sink so he could wash his hands just like mingyu asked. 

rinse, scrub, rinse, dry, turn around and show dada: "all done!" mingyu, who had strolled into the room after him, high-fived him for his efforts, washing his own hands just after.

"i'll take out the plates, and you can set the table," mingyu suggested once he was finished. 

after an incident a few weeks ago, both had been hesitant about wonwoo handling the dishes, but in order to get him comfortable doing things in the kitchen again, he would let him set out the dishes, even if he wasn't taking them down from the cabinets.

it really wasn't a big task for either of them to accomplish, but for wonwoo, it was a matter of doing something by himself. his concept of difficulty or how much time a chore took was overshadowed by the feeling of accomplishment at having completed anything at all.

so, mingyu took out two plates and stacked them on the counter where they would eat, adding some napkins for each of them. wonwoo carefully set out the plates side by side where the stools were sitting, splitting the napkins between them and setting them on top. 

when he was finished, he looked up at mingyu expectantly, and the caregiver clapped quietly. "good job! go bring your sippy cup, now."

the little did as he was told, skipping into the living room and grabbing the yellow cup before returning. when he did, he found mingyu waiting with a glass of his own already filled with ice.

mingyu pulled wonwoo closer by his waist, and the little laid his head onto his shoulder, gnawing on the top of his cup (and neglecting the paci still clipped to his shirt in the process) even though it was empty.

mingyu rubbed wonwoo's back. "you were so good today, baby."

wonwoo's suckling paused, and one of his hands curled into the fabric of the sweatshirt he was wearing, wanting to hold onto something but not having his caretaker's hand. the little asked shyly, "really?"

"really. _such_ a good boy. i think you deserve something nice."

the little perked up. if he was a good boy, he must have earned something! he liked it when mingyu let him pick something fun to do. "reward?"

"yes, baby, you can have a reward," he promised. "especially if you keep being good."

"i will!" wonwoo insisted. "really really." he almost dropped his cup, but mingyu took it carefully and set it back on the counter. he pulled away just far enough to ruffle wonwoo's hair.

(it was getting long, he noted, flopping in every direction when he shook his head; he liked it, found that it suited wonwoo and liked how easy it was to brush back.)

"good boy," he praised, delighted at the blush in his cheeks. "give me your cup, please, and i'll refill it for you," he added, satisfied when it was handed to him. "thank you, baby."

"you're welcome!" wonwoo cheered.

mingyu gave him some more water, and just as he was popping the lid back on, there was a knock at their door.

half seasoned, half plain. settled at one of the stools, wonwoo clumsily applauded the arrival of their dinner, and it really did remind mingyu of a little boy. he was excited to eat with his caregiver and earn something for being good all day.

wonwoo prattled away as he ate his chicken. mingyu urged him to have the plain to avoid getting too messy, and he followed what he said, but he still wanted the flavored kind.

he interrupted his own story about something his joshua-hyung had said to seokmin-hyung recently and reached out with a grabby-hand towards mingyu's plate. "can i have some, dada? please? like the flavored ones."

"you'll get sauce all over yourself, baby," he explained between bites.

"but i _want,"_ the little insisted. "won't be messy. i can do it."

mingyu smiled. he pointed to the remaining pieces on wonwoo's plate. "if i give you one of mine, you have to give me one of yours. deal?"

without hesitation, wonwoo placed a plain piece of chicken on mingyu's plate. "here. dada gets one."

"okay, then wonie gets one." mingyu handed him a seasoned piece, already anticipating the mess he was going to make anyway. it was already on his fingers as he ate, and he managed to spread it over the lower half of his face. "oh, my sweet. it's-- it's all over you..."

wonwoo licked the sauce off his lips, leaving a humorous looking red around his mouth. "don't worry, daddy, 'sokay'snotmessy."

"alright," he chuckled, taking in the sauce covering his hands and chin. "if you say so, baby."

they exchanged pieces again, and the process was repeated. by the time hey finished eating soon after, the sauce had reached wonwoo's cheeks. "all done!" wonwoo cried. "all done, all done!"

"okay, little one," mingyu placated, wiping off his hands with his napkins. "it's bath time for you after we clean up. understand?"

"yes, dada," wonwoo agreed, slipping off his stool and shuffling closer to his caregiver, only for mingyu to place a clean hand on his chest and stop him.

"ah, ah, you're all dirty. you can't have any hugs until we wash up." 

he led wonwoo to the sink, guiding him in washing the sauce off his hands, scrubbing soap into his skin and making sure he cleaned between his fingers and under his nails. the caregiver took a napkin next and cleaned his little's face. wonwoo squeezed his eyes shut while he did.

when he opened his eyes again, wonwoo was being pulled towards the bathroom, and he followed willingly for his bath. he liked taking baths. the one he had earlier wasn't very fun because he felt all icky, but he really did like them.

wonwoo liked being clean, the soft, delicate feeling of freshly scrubbed skin and the comforting smell of mingyu's soap. it made him feel protected, _especially_ because it was mingyu's.

taking baths gave wonwoo an excuse to be pampered by his caregiver and wear comfortable clothes that were bigger than him and smelled like the one he had quickly come to love: mingyu.

that was why he didn't waste any time doing what mingyu told him to, slipping out of his clothes and waiting for the bath to fill. at this point, they were already used to seeing each other naked, so wonwoo sat and waited as mingyu took off his shirt to avoid getting it wet.

once the tub was full and the water was warm, wonwoo found himself being picked up by his armpits and hauled into the bath by mingyu who groaned about how light he seemed.

"dada's silly," wonwoo giggled, not really processing the comment about his weight. his dada just smiled tightly at him and searched for the cup he'd left lying around.

wonwoo tossed in the rubber duck left sitting on the side of the tub and began to play with it while mingyu slowly wet his hair. they didn't have any bubble bath, which would have been very exciting, so he was content with squeezing the little toy and watching it float around, humming a song he heard about rubber ducks once.

"wonie likes his little duck, doesn't he?" mingyu smiled, bringing a hand up to cover wonwoo's eyes as he poured water over his bangs.

"mhm, i do," the little confirmed, squeaking as he squished the ducks head.

"what's its name?"

"uhm." mingyu began working shampoo into his curled locks, and the massaging feeling distracted wonwoo. "ollie?"

mingyu laughed, but he quickly disguised it as a cough so that wonwoo didn't get mad at him, even though the name was a pun and very funny to him. "oh, i like that name, baby."

"quack," was all the little responded with, holding the duck in front of mingyu's face. "quack quack."

ollie kissed mingyu on the cheek, and although he smiled, he playfully tried to bite the rubber duck.

wonwoo pulled the toy back with a cry, his legs jerking as some water splashed over the edge of the tub. "daddy!" he yelled, scandalized. "don't bite him! biting is _not nice!"_

"i'm sorry, sweetheart, i'm sorry!" he cried back, wanting to prevent any kind of tears. he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he accidentally made wonwoo cry this weekend. that was the last thing he deserved.

wonwoo clutched onto ollie protectively, which just ended up with him squeezing the poor ducks body. the little held on, though, keeping the toy far away from his dada's face. "ollie forgives you," he allowed, his face stern.

that kind of face was already scary on wonwoo-hyung, so mingyu was adequately chastised.

a few seconds passed and wonwoo went back to playing peacefully in his bath, mingyu observing him carefully as he refilled his cup with water. 

"can you close your eyes for me, won?" he requested, only to receive a minuscule glare as if wonwoo was deciding whether he and ollie could trust mingyu. the caregiver really hoped that wasn't the case; he tried so hard to get wonwoo to trust him. "please?" he tried.

wonwoo brightened and offered mingyu a smile, satisfied with the nice way he asked. his eyes squeezed shut and the smile stayed. mingyu dumped the water over his hair a couple of times and rinsed out the shampoo.

it was after that when wonwoo whined about getting all soapy and mingyu had to grab his body wash. it smelled like lemons and blueberries and little wonwoo (and big wonwoo, but he would never admit it) loved it, not only because it reminded him of mingyu, but the comforting citrus and flower scent reminded him of seokmin and joshua who-- by then-- were the closest thing to family he had.

it smelled like home.

and wonwoo liked it when mingyu lathered up his sponge and cleaned him. mingyu's touch was inexplicably gentle despite how big and intimidating he looked, so the little usually found himself leaning into hands during bath time like a kitten begging to be pet, humming and smiling.

during this, mingyu would talk and talk like he always did. he would tell him little stories with punchlines that made wonwoo chuckle and mingyu laugh that sweet boyish laugh of his that made wonwoo so, so happy.

the caregiver delivered another pun as the water drained, and wonwoo laughed, clapping his hands together even as a large, fluffy towel was thrown over his shoulders.

as mingyu dries wonwoo's hair, fluffing up the strands with the towel, he suddenly stills, concern lacing his voice, "huh, i wonder where wonu went? he was just here."

wonwoo laughed. his dada was so silly. "i'm right here!" he tried to struggle from underneath the towel, but it was no use, and mingyu managed to keep the towel over his face.

"i swear i heard something," he said, pretending to search through the towel. "is he in here?"

"here, i'm here!"

"woah!" mingyu's face flooded his vision, and open-mouthed grin greeting the little as he emerged from his fluffy prison. "i found him!" he littered kisses all over his face, continuing to dry his hair until it was tangled and sticking out in different directions.

once they had dressed in their pajamas-- wonwoo back in his shorts and a t-shirt, mingyu in pants and a sweater he would inevitably take off when they went to bed-- mingyu tugged at his impatient little's hair with a comb, a little surprised when come of the strands curled. in the end, wonwoo still shook his head and ruined his hard work, so it didn't matter.

mingyu watched as wonwoo rolled around on the bed again, in his own little world and not paying his caregiver much attention. eventually, he settled down, pulling his legs up and curling into a ball. he ended up eye level with mingyu's hip; if he rolled over he would be laying _on_ mingyu.

"dada," he called, remembering something. "didn't you say i could have a reward? i was good."

his caregiver makes an _oh_ sound, reaching out and rubbing wonwoo's back. "you were good, baby, and i did say that. do you have something in mind?"

wonwoo had thought of several potential rewards he could ask for. originally, he wanted to stay up as late as he could so he could spend a lot of time with mingyu, but he soon realized that he would get too tired and that big wonwoo would be annoyed. he actually didn't want any sweets after dinner, and it was a little late for him to ask then, so he settled with the next best thing he could think of.

"can i have breakfast?" he requested softly, reaching up and latching onto mingyu's sweater. where was his pacifier? he suddenly wanted it.

"what?" it took him a second for him to interpret what he was asking for. "oh, do you want me to cook breakfast for you? i can make you pancakes and you can have sweet milk."

"i want that, please," he agreed. "also want paci," he added.

"paci? oh, you mean now?" wonwoo nodded. "uh," the taller looked around, "i must have left it clipped to the shirt." he got up from bed and went to the closet where he had replaced the sweatshirt wonwoo had worn all afternoon, laughing to himself as he unclipped the little yellow object.

mingyu held it in front of wonwoo, "here, little one."

"thank," was all he got in return.

wonwoo clutched his pacifier, barely sucking on it and letting it sit loosely in his mouth. the pressure alone was nice, and he reached out for mingyu's extra comfort. 

the light was turned out and all that remained was a little light beside mingyu's bed, the caregiver slipping out of his sweater as he climbed into bed to finally join wonwoo.

the little barely had to move as mingyu tucked him in, bringing the quilt around their shoulders and settling on curling around wonwoo. with the way they were laying, wonwoo was able to awkwardly curl his fingers into mingyu's hair. having something in his mouth and in his hand was nice, and his caregiver wasn't wearing a shirt for him to clutch onto.

"you already want to go to bed?" mingyu asked, probably just to make sure. his response came in the form of wonwoo nuzzling closer, fingernails scratching against the back of mingyu's neck as he grip briefly tightened.

"tired," he whined. he felt finished for the day and big wonwoo was telling him to turn in, drained from his week of stressful decisions. "shhh, dada."

"alright, sweetheart, i'll be right here. i love you."

"big hyung says _shhh."_

mingyu didn't need to hear him say it. he knew wonwoo loved him back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the remainder of this fic (sunday) may not come that fast bc i have other one shots for this series, other one shots in general for this account, and other projects. i really hope this is going well though !! everyone stay safe out there <3


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